Alex Albon has said that Max Verstappen's ability to quickly understand how to drive a car at its ultimate pace is what makes the Dutchman such a tough teammate to try and compete against.

Verstappen has had a number of teammates at Red Bull in recent years and beaten them all pretty handsomely, with Sergio Perez set to finish well behind him in this season's standings - though he has had a decent enough campaign in his first year with the team.

Indeed, Albon is someone that has also been up against Max in the Red Bull garage and could not really get near the Dutchman, with him losing his seat in the team to Perez at the end of 2020.

Albon returns to the grid for next year, however, as he joins up with Williams and ahead of his return he has reflected on what it's like to work with the infamously ruthless Helmut Marko as well as just what makes Verstappen so strong as a driver, speaking to the F1 Nation podcast:

''There is a misunderstanding about that. It's certainly not as bad as has been claimed by the media. Helmut is making the most of it and it's a winning team that expects good results. That's how it should be. Of course, it's tough if you have no experience in a top team, but it's mainly about getting to know the car.

'''It's also not like saying 'you have to do this or that.' They want both cars to do well. They're not putting extra pressure on you either, the media is already doing that. Besides, I already put most of the pressure on myself, nobody can add to that. How the car can be fast is just not as easy for Sergio and myself to figure out as it is for Max.''

It's going to be good seeing Albon back in Formula 1 from next season and hopefully he can help carry Williams up the field in 2022.